Russia hints at tighter Opec ties

Russia has collaborated with Opec in reducing oil exports when prices fell in the past, but expectations of an even closer alliance have risen since the attendance of the deputy prime minister at Opec’s ministerial conference earlier this month. “There has to be a Russian factor” in determining prices “and maybe not just one”, Sergei Shmatko, the energy minister, told reporters in Russia’s remote Kamchatka region.